Administrators crackdown on disruptive chapel behavior

Student sleeping on the floor during chapel. (photo courtesy of Jacob Perry)

By Amy Taylor

Mandy Goon is used to students being disruptive while she’s leading worship in chapel; but, when they’re loud during communion, it really irritates her.

“It’s not respectful. We’re supposed to be adults. People want to be treated as adults, and they don’t act like it,” Goon said.

Trevecca administrators are cracking down on disruptive behavior in chapel after hearing from several students that some students are making worship difficult by talking and laughing during the service.

After the March 24 chapel service, Matt Spraker, associate dean of students for community life, received several complaints from students about the students who sit at the top of Benson Auditorium being disruptive during chapel.

“It took over 30 minutes last Wednesday for me to get from chapel to my office because of the students who stopped me to talk about it, and there was even someone waiting at my office to complain,” Spraker said.

After the same chapel, students also complained to Heather Daugherty, director of church services, about the number of disruptive students.

Goon, for instance, said she sits on the front row during chapel when she’s not playing music. She can hear the students at the top of the stadium seating talking during the sermon and communion, and it makes her mad, she said.

As the chapel service was beginning on March 31, Daugherty told the audience that several students had complained to her the week before about students being distracting during chapel. She asked that students be more respectful during the service.

Spraker has also received complaints about student behavior during Tuesday/Thursday chapel services.

Because the school year is coming to a close, students are beginning to be plagued by spring fever, he said.

“Students tend to get a little antsy,” Spraker said.

Spraker also assumes that students are simply not interested in attending chapel, but even if they are not interested, they should show respect to other students who are interested, he said.

“Honestly, I could not believe how loud and disrespectful some students in the upper section of Benson Auditorium were last week,” Spraker said.

Spraker has been sitting at the top of the stadium seating in Benson Auditorium during Wednesday chapels lately, hoping to find out why students are being so loud.

“In reality, if a student is too much of a distraction, we will have to handle it on a person by person basis, and they may not receive credit for that particular chapel,” Spraker said.

Daugherty and his efforts seemed to pay off last week, Spraker said.

“I just wish everyone would show respect for not only chapel and the musicians and speakers, but for their fellow chapel going students,” Spraker said.